Current and former Atlanta Falcons have denied the team had a bounty system like the one the New Orleans Saints were busted for. But what about former Falcons who were also former Saints? If only we had ... hey, here's Joe Horn:
Former Saint Joe Horn says EVERY NFL team has a program like the Saints bounty program.Says in KC and ATL players were paid for cart offs.
— Lee Zurik (@LeeZurik) March 21, 2012
Horn played for Atlanta in 2007, meaning if the Birds did have any of this business going on at the time, we can blame Bobby Petrino. Thus, everything solves itself.
If the Falcons did somehow happen to be punished for a five-year old program (be sure to keep your bounty receipts for at least a decade, NFL players), there's really nobody left to punish. The entire coaching staff, most of the front office, and almost the whole roster is different. Sorry, Saints fans.
The receiver played two stints for New Orleans, both before and after his single season in Atlanta. He's a member of the Saints Hall of Fame, and made the comment while on Nola radio. He was born and raised in Saints country as well. He also seems to be pretty worked up. So take it for what it's worth. First, decide what you think it's worth, and then take it for that. Solid advice.
The NFL appears to be making an example of the Saints, then having every other team swear nothing like this will ever happen again. If other teams were doing the same thing, it's not exactly fair that only the Saints would be punished, but that's the team the NFL had evidence against.
For more on the Saints, visit Canal Street Chronicles.
